The polyphenylene ether resins are a family of engineering thermoplastics that are well known to the polymer art. These polymers may be made by a variety of catalytic and non-catalytic processes from the corresponding phenols or reactive derivatives thereof. By way of illustration, certain of the polyphenylene ethers are disclosed in Hay, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,306,874 and 3,306,875, and in Stamatoff, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,257,357 and 3,257,358. In the Hay patents, the polyphenylene ethers are prepared by an oxidative coupling reaction comprising passing an oxygen-containing gas through a reaction solution of a phenol and a metalamine complex catalyst.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,356,761 discloses such polyphenylene oxides which are dissolved in styrene monomer and the styrene monomer subsequently polymerized into polystyrene to produce a mixture of polyphenylene oxide and polystyrene.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,373,226 and 3,383,435 disclose mixtures of polyphenylene oxide and a styrene resin.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,660,531 and 3,920,770 disclose polyphenylene oxide, or styrene resin modified-polyphenylene oxide, and a rubbery polymer, such as, for example, a butadiene-styrene block copolymer, said blends having unexpected thermoplastic properties.
In certain applications there is need for a polyphenylene oxide having improved adhesion to polar surfaces or to paints. Furthermore, it is often desired to have improved compatibility of polyphenylene oxide with other polar resins, or to improve the compatibility of the polyphenylene oxide with a rubbery polymer. These and other desirable properties can be achieved by blending with the polyphenylene oxide a polymer which contains at least one block of polymerized lactone.
Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide a thermoplastic blend composition having improved thermoplastic properties, such as tensile strength and impact resistance.
Another object of this invention is to provide a polyphenylene ether thermoplastic composition of improved properties useful as an engineering plastic.
A further object of this invention is to provide a thermoplastic polyphenylene oxide resin composition having improved thermoplastic properties such as tensile strength and impact resistance without sacrificing the desirable properties of unmodified polyphenylene oxide resins.
Other objects, aspects, as well as the several advantages of this invention will become apparent to one skilled in the art upon the study of this specification and the appended claims.